Life-boat



(No Model.)

T. HAMILTON.

LIFE BOAT.

Patented May 29,1883.

WITNESSES. M'@W..

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC TOBIAS HAMILTON, OF cEntrREFIELD, OHIO.

LlFE -BOAT.,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,542, dated May 29, 1883.

' A pplicationfiled March 9,1883. (No model.)

To all whom ttmay concern Be it known thatI, Tomas HAMILTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Centrefield, in thecounty of Highland and State of Ohio, have invented .a new and Improved Life-Boat, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to that class of. small boatswhich are carried by ships and other seain gs, in which- 7 spherical and impenetrable to water.

Figure lis a side elevation of my life-boat. Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, part in plan, of the same.

'A represents the body or hull of the boat, made preferably of sheet-iron, though wood or any other material may beused instead. Thecharacteristicdilference of this boat from common boatsis, first, that this boat is circular in' its horizontal sections, except that a segment is cut away from each of the two sides to admit the propelling paddle-wheels B within the theoretical circle, the sides of the boat next the wheelsbeing vertical planes, and the floor of the boat over each wheel beinga horizontal segment, serving as a seat or as storage-room inside, and a cut-water, a keel, a stern-post,

. lar contour; second, the hull of the boat is and a rudder are formed outside of the circuprovided with sides, forming a vertical cylinder, and a roof nearly spherical joining the upper edge of the cylinder. Thus the hull of the boat is a complete shell approximately The roof is provided with lights sealed around, and with acupola, O, at its summit, perforated forventilating the interior, the perforations being guarded against any direct entrance of water. w

E is the door for en trance and exit, and it is adapted to be closed water-tight by a packing around the doorway. The interior is provided with seats, and straps with buckles are secured to the walls to draw over the bodies of occui pants to sustain them in extremely rough weather, and-loops are also secured below the seats for the occupants to thrust their feet in for the same purpose.

The wheels B are secured upon short shafts providedwith pinion-gears a a, which are engaged and operated by spur-gears d, mounted on a cranked shaft b, which revolves in bearings secured to the boat, the crank extending across the interior of the bull, in a position convenient to be worked by the occupants. The bearings of the wheel-shafts and rudderpost are packed to exclude water.

The cupola at the top, furnishing air, may be a tube of any desired height, and the boat may be any size, to hold from one person to one hundred, or even more. The keel is provided with a sufficient amount of fixed ballast to keep the boat right side up with any load which it can properly carry. V

I estimate that a boat of this style twenty feet indiameter can, seat and carry one hundred and twenty-seven persons of an average weight of one hundred and forty pounds each, with water and provisions for a few days, and that a boat ofthis size may be propelled by four men at the rate of eight'miles an hour.

What 1 claim as my invention, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A life-boat having an approximately spherical shell segmentally cut awayat its two sides, walled in at the chord of each segment by a vertical plane, and floored over. each of said segmental spaces, forming a tight hull, and provided with propelling-wheels jonrnaled in said vertical walls, and means within the hull of the boat for revolving said wheels, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

TOBIAS HAMILTON.

Witnesses: y

SAMUEL SOLLARS, GEORGE T. GRI MSLEY. 

